Button-hole-cutting machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0 A. LAKE.- Button Hole Cutting Machine.

No. 242,544. Patented June 7,1881.

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(No Model.)

0. A. LAKE. Button Hole Cutting Machine.

Patented June 7,188l.

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rrn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. LAKE, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 242,544, dated June '7, 1881.

Application filed April 21, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLEs A. LAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Button-Hole-Cutting Machine; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to power-driven machines for cuttin gbutton-holes in leather, cloth, 850.; and it consists not only in the structure of the machine as a whole, but in the combination of certain new and useful devices, as hereinafter explained.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in Figure 1, alongitudinal section of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a plan of the friction-clutch, and Fig. 3 a side elevation of the machine.

The elements of this machine as a whole consist of a punch-cutter adapted to slide to and fro in vertical ways in a suitable standard and with respect to a stationary cutting-bed below, upon which the material to be acted upon is laid, the cutter being so operated as to descend, perform its office, and then rise, when its motion is automatically arrested until again put in motion by the operator; a separable friction-clutch connected with the arbor which drives the cutter; an oscillating treadle or pedal connected with the loose portion of the clutch by a pitman and lever, or their equivalents,in such manner that a movement of the pedal in one direction unites the portions of the clutch and puts the arbor and cutterin rotation; and, lastly, of a spring-impelled bolt, supported in hearings in the machine-standard and operating with the fast portion of the clutch to arrest the motion of the latter, and through it of the arbor and cutter, said bolt being retracted by the lever before named as such lever begins its movement to close the two portions of the clutch by which the arbor is put in rotation.

Details of this machine consist in the mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the lever and pitman before named, and for operating the bolt, and in providing an elastic seat or foundation for the cutting-bed or cutter, whereby the strains and thrusts upon the cutter in cutting the stock are cushioned to such an extent as to protect the cutter from fracture or other injury.

In these drawings, A represents the frame of the machine, the same consisting of an upright standard of suitable form to contain the operative parts of the machine, with a baseplate, B, for attachment to a bench, the front upper part of the standard A having an open head, 0, which constitutes a bearin g for an uprightbar, D, which slides in such head and carries at its lower end the button-hole cutter E, while the front end of the base-B constitutes a block to receive the cutting bed or block F, upon which the cutter E descends.

The cutter-bar D is driven in vertical reciprocations bya link, G, one end of which is pivoted to it, while the opposite end of such link is'pivoted to the Wrist-pin of a crank or crankwheel, H, secured to the front end of a horizontal arbor or shaft, I, mounted in bearings in the upper part of the standard A, such shaft having affixed to it in rear of the standard a circular cup-shaped disk or hub, J, open at rear and constituting one half or portion of a conical friction clutch, the other half of such clutch being a conical pulley, K, fitting the inner conical periphery of the hub J and mounted loosely upon the arbor I. When the pulley K is isolated from the hub J the latter and the cutter-bar remain at rest; (it being understood that when the inachineis in operation the pulley is in constant rotation,) and to throw the pulley into contact with the hub, and thereby put the hub and shaft into rotation, I em ploy a bell-crank lever, L, which is pivoted at its angle, as shown at a, to a standard, A, below the hub, the upper endof this lever being furcated and straddling and engaging a peripherally-grooved hub, 0, form ed upon the rear end of the pulley.

' By depressing the front end of the lever L the pulley is forced in contact with the hub J, and the latter and the shaft I put in revolution, thereby imparting vertical reciprocations to the cutter-bar and cutter with respect to the cutting-bed or block E.

To provide a simple, powerful, and convenient means of lowering the lever L and crowding the pulley into contact with the hub J and leaving the operators hands free to guide the work, I employ an oscillating pedal, which is pivoted at its center to the floor of the apartment containing the machine, and is connected to the lower end of a rigid connecting rod or pitman, N, the upper end of such rod, which is preferably rectangular in cross-section, extending through an orifice, (I, in the front end of the lever L, and having upon its rear side a notch, e, to operate with a sliding latch bar or plate, f, disposed upon the top of the horizontal portion or arm g of said lever L, this latch-bar being forced forward to its extreme against a step upon the lever by a coiled spring, it, one end of which is secured to the latch-plate and the other to the lever. The pitman N is connected to the rear or toe end of the pedal consequently when this end of the pedal is lowered the arm 9 of the lever L is lowered to put the cutterin motion. A spiral or other spring, 9., is placed between the end of the arm g of said lever L and the base-plate B, and operates to elevate such arm when the restraint of the pitman N is removed from it.

The rotations of the hub J and shaft 1, and consequently the vertical reciprocations of the cutter-bar and cutter, are intermittent-that is to say, at every revolution the hub-shaft and cutter come to a dead stop, in order that after the cutting of one button-hole time may be afforded the operator to move the material along into a position to cut another; and I consider this feature to be a valuable point in the machine, as but for such a provision two or more button-holes would be cut in about the same spot or at points in the material not intended. To effect these intermissions in the revolution of the hub J I proceed as follows: 0 represents a horizontal bolt, supported in bearings t t'upon the side of the standard opposite to that upon which the bell-crank lever is situated, this bolt 0 being forced toward and up to the hub J by the stress of a coiled spring, 9', one end of which is secured to the standard, A, and the other to the upper end of a vertical vibrator-bar, P, the upper end of such bar being pit'oted to the bolt, as shown at 1, while its lower endis pivoted to the bed-plate of the machine-frame, as shown at k. An abutment or stop, 1), is secured to the front end of the hub J, which brings up against the rear end of the bolt 0 and arrests the rotation of the hub when the bolt is in its extreme rearward position. The bolt is retracted-th at is, drawn away from the hub J by a horizontal pin or stud, n, projecting from one side of the front end of the arm 9 of the lever L and wiping, when the said arm is lowered, against an inclined cam-grade, 0, formed upon the rear edge of the vibratorybarP. Oonsequentl y when the said arm is lowered and the pulley forced into contact with the hub the bolt is simultaneously withdrawn and the hub left free to rotate. When the said arm rises the pulley is disengaged from the hub, and coincident therewith the bolt is thrown toward such hub, and the latter continues its revolution by its own impetus alone until its stop m brings up against the bolt and its movement ceases, or, as may sometimes be the case, stops revolving before its stop reaches the bolt.

If desirable a friction device of some kind may be combined with the hub to exert a drag upon it and serve to arrest its rotation. Such a device is shown in the accompanying drawings as a curved plate-spring, 71, secured at its base to the rear side of the hub, and with its free end wiping against the rear end of the locking-bolt 0.

To disengage the treadle-bar N from the arm 9 of the lever L at the proper time and permit such arm to rise, I secure to the periphery of the hub J an obliquely-disposed wipercam, g, which operates with a transverse notch, r, cut in the upper face of the rear end of the latch-bar f, the said wiper-cam being so situated with respect to the adjacent devices operating with the hub and lever L that before the stop an brings up against the bolt 0 and arrests the rotation of the hub J the said cam has retracted the latch-bar and freed the lever L from the control of the pedal-bar N, and the arm g of the said lever is allowed to rise and disengage the pulley from the hub J. As soon as the cam q passes by the latch-bar or plate f, the latter, by the stress of its spring, returns to its normal position against the pitman N, below its notch c, and the hub J continues to rotate by its own momentum until it comes to a stop before completing more than one revolution.

In order to protect the cutter E from fracture or other injury and enable it to perform its functions to the best advantage, I provide an elastic seat to the cutting bed or block F, as shown. In the present instance this elastic medium consists in a spring, 8, placed below the stem tof the cutter-block and within the socket u, in which such stem is deposited.

In lieu of placing the elastic medium or cushion below the eutting-head, it may be placed upon the top of the shank of the cutter E and within the socket in the bar I) which receives such shank.

A gage to properly define the position of the button-holes with respect to the edge of the material or garment in which such holes are cut is shown in the drawings as a flat vertical plate, 12, secured to the front end of ahorizontal bar, w, supported in a bearing, 00, in the standard A in rear of the cutter-bed, and bein g adjustable in such bearing.

The operation of this machine is as follows, it being understood that the hub or head J has completed its revolution and is at rest with its stop m in contact with the bolt 0, the arm '9 of the lever L being raised to its fullest extent and the pulley K in constant rotation and removed from contact with the hub, and the cutter and cutter-bar in their highest position,

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the toe end of the pedal depressed, and the front end of the latch-bar f being estopped from entering the notch e of the pitman N: The operator now places the material or stock upon the bed F, with its edge in contact with the gage v, and then with his heel lowers the front end of the pedal, which elevates the pitman N until its notch arrives opposite the latch-barf, when the latter enters such notch and the pitman engages the lever L. The operator now reverses the position of the pedalthat is, lowers its rear or toe end-which act lowers the arm g of the lever L, and, by means of the stud n of such arm wiping against the cam-grade of the bar q, as before explained, removes the bolt 0 from before the stop m, and leaves the hub or head J free to rotate, while immediately thereafter the pulley K is crowdedinto contact with the said head J, and the latter is put in revolution. The head J continues in rotation until the cutter has descended and performed its office and begins to return, at which time the can] q of the said head J enters and passes through the notch rof the latch-bar f, thereby removing the said latch from the notch 1' of the pitman N and permitting the arm 9 of the lever L to rise, thereby separating the two portions of the clutch and advancing the bolt into the path of movement of the stop on. The head J continues in rotation by its own momentum until the cutter is elevated and the stop at of such head brings up against the bolt 0 and the motion of the head is arrested unless the rotation of the head ceases before being thus estopped. The operator now changes the position of the material upon the cutter-bed and again depresses the heel portion of the pedal to take a new hold of the lever L.

I have described the clutch as a conical t'riction-clutch, but I do not confine myself to its use, as in lieu of it a clutch may be employed consisting of two disks having interlocking teeth, such as are now in extensive use.

I am aware that it is not new to use the same lever for stopping the fast part or head of the clutch and for throwing the movable part of the clutch into engagement therewith.

I am also aware that it is not new to cause the same movement of the lever to stop the fast part of the clutch and to unship the other part thereof. I therefore do not broadly claim such construction; but

I claim w 1. In combination with a rotating shaft, a head or part of a clutch fixed thereon, a stop attached to said head, and a movable rod or bar arranged to be automatically thrown into position to engage with said stop and arrest the motion of said head at regular intervals.

2. The combination of the two parts of a clutch, the shifting-lever, pitman -rod, and treadle with a movable locking-rod arranged to be thrown into engagement with a stop on the fixed part or head of said clutch, said movable locking-rod being retracted by the downward motion of the pitman N for clutching.

3. The combination of head J, having stop m, with rod 0, lever P, springj, incline o, shippin g-lever L, having pin n, and the treadle and pitman, whereby the same movement that brings together the parts of the clutches also frees the head from the locking-rod O.

4. The combination of the two parts of a clutch and the stop at on the fixed partthereof with shipping-leverL, arranged and adapted to engage said rod or connections thereof and retract the same, for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with the rod 0 and devices for advancing and retracting the same, the curved brake-spring p, and the head J, to which it is attached.

6. In combination with the two parts of a clutch, the shipping-lever L, latch-bar f, and pitman.N, notched at e, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination with the two parts of a clutch, the shipping-lever L, latch-bar f, spring g, notched pitman N, and oblique piece g, attached to the fixed part of said clutch and adapted to operate said latch-bar, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of pitlnan N, spring a, shipping-lever L, the two parts of a clutch, and locking and unlocking mechanism, substantiall y as described, for the fixed part of the clutch.

9. In combination with plunger D and cutter E, the bed-plate F and elastic cushion t, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. LAKE.

Witnesses:

IVERY W. M. PEIROE, AUGUSTUS H. SUTHERLAND.

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